Benitez had spoken the previous day of a “calculated risk” in playing Gerrard, but the reality was the Spaniard had long been planning for the fixture without the talismanic skipper, who continues to struggle with an adductor injury.

With Gerrard sat in the directors’ box rather than on the pitch, the unfairly maligned Lucas ostensibly filled the hole behind Fernando Torres.

It was hardly like-for-like, but that didn’t stop Michael Essien, superb up against Gerrard six days earlier, patrolling the Brazilian during the opening stages. And he had to; Lucas was one of several Liverpool players to excel, Fabio Aurelio and Xabi Alonso also deserving plaudits.

Benitez admitted Liverpool needed an early goal to give his team hope. And they got two to level the aggregate score by half-time.

The visitors should have gone ahead on 13 minutes, Yossi Benayoun’s clever back flick from at Dirk Kuyt pass giving Torres a clear sight at goal but the striker hurriedly miscued his left-footed shot over. But they had to wait only another six minutes. With Liverpool having won a free-kick 35 yards out on the right following Ricardo Carvalho’s daft foul on Torres, everyone waited in expectation for Aurelio’s cross.

That included Petr Cech, who was caught cold by the Brazilian curling a brilliant low free-kick into his near post bottom corner. Somewhere, Gary McAllister was nodding in approval.

Branislav Ivanovic, the hero for Chelsea last week, turned villain in the 28th minute here when, while trying to defend another Aurelio free-kick into the box, the defender seemingly attempted to throttle Alonso.

Keen-eyed referee Luis Medina Cantalejo spotted the offence and, after regaining his breath, Alonso converted nervelessly from the spot.

Liverpool played with urgency, aware of the job at hand.

Chelsea, though, were in two minds how to approach the game, and the visitors sought to capitalise on that uncertainty, Cech forced to claw away a Kuyt header from Alonso’s cross moments before the interval.

Aurelio was narrowly off target with another ambitious effort after an increasingly erratic Cech went walkabout after the restart.

But Chelsea regained control of the tie with two goals in six minutes although, as in the semi-final meeting last season, the Londoners needed a Liverpool player to ease their nerves with Reina’s uncharacteristic aberration.

Having upset the home team with the award of Alonso’s penalty, referee Cantalejo was curiously generous to Guus Hiddink’s men throughout the second half. But it’s not like someone from Chelsea would have had a word with the official.

And after Drogba had struck the side-netting from 30 yards, another soft free-kick in the 57th minutes saw Alex thrash a fantastic shot beyond a flailing Reina from even further out.

There were more questions asked in the build-up to Chelsea ’s third on 76 minutes, a clear foul on Lucas ignored with Michael Ballack eventually crossing Lampard to tap home.

That should have been that. But, after a 25-yard shot from Lucas deflected in off Essien, Kuyt set up a grandstand finish two minutes later by heading home substitute Albert Riera’s left-wing cross from close range.

Another failure to spot a foul on Lucas earlier in the play finally settled the game in the 89th minute, Lampard’s shot hitting both posts before nestling in.

There was still time for Essien to produce a remarkable headed clearance off the line to prevent substitute David Ngog causing home hearts to again flutter.

They may not have quite managed another Istanbul, but Liverpool left Stamford Bridge with their pride restored last night.